Hard to believe February is here tomorrow! January is truly the longest month of the year and I’m not one bit sad to say goodbye to it.

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, I have more Valentine’s Day desserts coming your way!

Raspberry Cream Cupcakes

Last week I posted my new Pink Pavlova and today we have my new Raspberry Cream Cupcakes made with a tender vanilla bean cupcake and raspberry cream. The combination of these two simple elements is a light, but truly delicious treat.

Ingredients You Need to Make Vanilla Cupcakes

These vanilla cupcakes are easy-to-make and bake up beautifully. To get started, make sure you have the following ingredients on hand:

• Unsalted butter
• Granulated sugar
• Egg whites
• Vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste (I like the latter)
• Buttermilk
• Cake flour
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Sour cream

How to Make the Perfect Vanilla Cupcakes

To get started, line two cupcake tins with cupcake liners.

• In the bowl of an electric mixer, you’ll start by combining the butter and sugar. Remember, butter and all ingredients coming from the fridge should be ROOM TEMPERATURE before you start.
• Beat the butter and the sugar on medium-high speed until light in color and fluffy in texture.
• Gradually add the egg whites and vanilla. Make sure to scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl between additions to ensure all of the ingredients are incorporated evenly.
• Beat the batter for an additional 3 to 5 minutes on medium-high speed until the batter is smooth and nearly double in size.
• With the mixer on low, alternately add the flour, baking powder, and salt with the buttermilk. Stir just until combined (meaning, no streaks of flour remain). Do not overmix.
• Fold in the sour cream. PRO TIP: the sour cream adds fat – fat adds and helps retain moisture in the cake.
• Fill each cupcake liner about 2/3-¾ full and bake at 325 for about 20 minutes.

Raspberry Cream

The whipped cream filling for this cake is truly something special. You’ll be amazed at how easily this comes together and how stable it is. We’re even piping with it!

What You’ll Need:

• Food processor
• Heavy whipping cream
• Granulated sugar
• Freeze-dried raspberries (you CANNOT use fresh or frozen berries – the reason the cream can get so thick is because the freeze-dried fruit, when pulverized, absorbs some of the moisture from the cream and helps to create a Greek yogurt like texture.

How to Make Raspberry Cream

• The raspberry cream is best made in a food processor, but can also be done in a blender.
• Make sure to use a high-fat heavy whipping cream. I like 40% Darigold.
• Start by processing the freeze-dried raspberries in your food processor until the fruit resembles a powder.
• Add the sugar and cream and pulse until the mixture thickens. It will have the texture of Greek yogurt.

If you don’t want raspberry filling, you can sub any freeze-dried fruit for the raspberries.

More Recipes You’ll Love

• 7 Cute and Easy Valentine’s Cake Ideas
• How to Decorate a Cake with Raspberries
• The Best Way to Fill a Cake with Raspberry Filling
• The Best Strawberry Buttercream Frosting for Cake
• How to Turn Cakes into Cupcakes

Print

Raspberry Cream Cupcake

Tender and flavorful vanilla bean cupcakes with raspberry cream frosting.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Cupcake

Keyword raspberry, Raspberry Cream Cupcake, Raspberry Cream Filling, vanilla, Vanilla Cupcake

Servings 24 people

Ingredients

FOR THE CUPCAKES

• 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 3/4 cups (350 g) granulated sugar
• 6 large egg whites, room temperature
• 1 tbsp. (13 g) vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (120 g) sour cream, room temperature
• 3 cups (345 g) cake flour
• 1 tbsp. (10 g) baking powder
• 1 tsp. (5 g) salt
• 1 cup (240 g) buttermilk, room temperature

FOR THE RASPBERRY CREAM

• 1/2 cups (15 g) freeze dried raspberries, ***You cannot sub with fresh or frozen berries***
• 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
• 2 cups (460 g) heavy whipping cream, cold

Instructions

FOR THE CUPCAKES

• Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Line two cupcake tins with cupcake liners. Set aside.
• In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and the sugar for 3 to 5 minutes on medium-high speed. The mixture should be light and fluffy.
• Scrape down the sides of the bowl and begin to add the egg whites on medium speed, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl between addition.
• Add the vanilla bean paste or extract and beat until incorporated.
• With the mixer on low speed, add ⅓ of the flour mixture, followed by ½ cup of the buttermilk. Repeat the additions, ⅓ flour mixture, ½ cup buttermilk and the final ⅓ flour mixture. Only mix until the flour mixture is incorporated, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix again for another 20 to 30 seconds on low. Fold in the sour cream.
• Fill each cupcake liner about 2/3-¾ full. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs on it. Let cool in the pans for about 15 minutes and then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely. (Tip: spray your wire cooling racks with nonstick spray).

FOR THE RASPBERRY CREAM

• In a food processor, pulse the freeze dried raspberries until they resemble a powder.
• Add the sugar and the cream. Scrape down the sides and corners of the food processor.
• Pulse the mixture for about 2 minutes, until the cream becomes thick – like Greek yogurt.
• Keep refrigerated until ready to use.

The post The Best Raspberry Cream Cupcakes first appeared on Cake by Courtney.

The post The Best Raspberry Cream Cupcakes appeared first on Cake by Courtney.

I get asked almost every day if one of my layered cakes can be turned into cupcakes. The answer? Yes! There are just a few simple steps to follow when wanting to adjust the recipe for cupcakes. It is totally doable and no reason for you not to make the most delicious cupcakes from these cake recipes! Alright, here is how to convert any layered cake into cupcakes.

Sometimes cupcakes are just what you need to serve at a party or gathering. They make it clean and easy to pass out to lots of different people quickly. And just because you’re serving cupcakes doesn’t mean you need to sacrifice any of the flavors or magic that a cake can bring. 

I have lots of cake recipes on my website where I include a step-by-step guide on how to transform the cake into cupcakes, but I thought it was about time to dedicate a general post on this topic so you all can see just how easy it is to do! 

How to Convert Any Layered Cake into Cupcakes Step #1

Prepare cake batter, buttercream, and additional fillings/toppings as directed in the original recipe.

The first step is super easy. You will just follow the cake recipe like normal when you’re prepping your batter, buttercream, and fillings/toppings. Set aside your buttercream and toppings. Next, you’ll prep your muffin tin and pour the batter into each cup about ¾ full. 

How to Convert Any Layered Cake into Cupcakes Step #2

Decrease the baking time by 5-10 minutes.

When it comes to actually baking the cupcakes in the oven, the temperature will remain the same as what’s directed in the original cake recipe. However, you will want to decrease the baking time by 5-10 minutes. Just make sure to keep a close eye on your cupcakes to ensure they are getting baked properly because every bake and oven is different! 

How to Convert Any Layered Cake into Cupcakes Step #3

Fill and/or decorate the cupcakes with your prepared buttercream and fillings/toppings.

Depending on what type of filings and/or toppings the cake recipe calls for, you can decide if you want to fill the inside of your cupcakes with a cream filling or just decorate the top of your cupcakes. I like to fill the inside of my cupcakes whenever I can and then pipe the top with the buttercream frosting and then finish it off by sprinkling any type of crumble mixture or whatever the recipe calls for. 

This is your chance to get creative and find ways to make all the different ingredients shine through. You can have a lot of fun with this and make them look really beautiful AND taste amazing! 

How to Convert Any Layered Cake into Cupcakes

I hope this post on how to convert any layered cake into cupcakes is helpful! It really is so simple to convert almost any cake recipe into cupcakes. The main difference is the baking time, so just be aware of that whenever you make your cupcakes! If you liked this post and want to know more tips and recipes on all things cake, follow me on Instagram @cakebycourtney!  

Other posts you’ll love that include cupcake conversion tips:

• Coconut Cake with Chocolate Coconut Buttercream
• Raspberry Cream Cupcakes
• Gluten-Free Chocolate Cupcakes

The post How to Convert Any Layered Cake into Cupcakes first appeared on Cake by Courtney.

The post How to Convert Any Layered Cake into Cupcakes appeared first on Cake by Courtney.

This post is dedicated to all my bakers who love raspberries. Raspberries are so beautiful to look at and probably one of the most delicious berries to eat. And they have the perfect flavor to pair with cakes. I have made so many different cakes that showcase raspberries in flavor and beauty. But this post is all about how to decorate a cake with raspberries. I hope you enjoy!

I thought it would be best to showcase 5 different cakes I’ve made that I decorated with raspberries to help gives you some raspberry decorating ideas. There are so many more ways than just 5 to decorate your cakes, but these are some of my favorites! I hope you learn something new and have fun trying these raspberry decorating ideas out on your own cakes. 

5 Ways to Decorate a Cake with Raspberries

Raspberry Cake #1: Raspberry Pretzel Cake

I actually decorated the top of this Raspberry Pretzel Cake with the raspberry pretzel filling I spread between the cake layers. I want you to know there are so many ways to decorate or finish a cake! I loved leaving this one uncovered because the cake layers themselves are so amazing to look at. So, this cake shows how you can decorate a cake with raspberries by using the raspberry filling you intended to use throughout the cake. I love how this one turned out and I hope you do too! 

Raspberry Cake #2: Raspberry Chocolate Truffle Cake

I love the decoration on this Raspberry Chocolate Truffle Cake. There are a lot of different elements to it, but it all works together so nicely and is actually pretty simple to put together. For this cake, I did a chocolate ganache drip on a portion of the cake, then placed a few raspberries over it, and then piped some dollops of cream in between the raspberries. So, this cake is a good example of how you can incorporate other decoration elements (buttercream, ganache, chocolate shavings) with your raspberries to help it all come together. 

Raspberry Cake #3: Chai White Chocolate Raspberry Cake

One of the crispest color combinations is red and white. I absolutely love the look of the fresh raspberries on my Chai White Chocolate Raspberry Cake. One of the things that I enjoy most about raspberries is that they are already beautiful to look at without you having to do anything to them. Sometimes it’s nice to keep it simple and put a border of raspberries around the top of your cake. Don’t be afraid to go simple–sometimes that’s exactly what a cake needs for it to look clean and elegant. 

Raspberry Cake #4: Layered Pink Pavlova with Vanilla Custard

A very simple trick that makes raspberries stand out even more on a cake is to dust it with powdered sugar. On my Layered Pink Pavlova with Vanilla Custard, I sprinkled fresh raspberries in between the cake layers and then on top and finished it with powdered sugar. I don’t always recommend sprinkling fresh raspberries over the entire top of your cake, but I did it on this pavlova because it helped add some rich flavor.

Raspberry Cake #5: Raspberry Cream Cupcakes

We’re switching it up and talking about cupcakes for this one! A super easy way to decorate with raspberries is to make a raspberry cream. All you need is freeze-dried raspberries, sugar, and heavy cream. You have to specifically use freeze-dried raspberries (instead of frozen or fresh) in order to get a soft enough cream. That way you can use the cream to pipe onto the cupcakes. 

The raspberry cream itself is really beautiful as the specks of freeze-dried raspberries are sprinkled throughout! You can add a few freeze-dried raspberries on top of each cupcake to add a bit more decoration too. 

How to Decorate a Cake with Raspberries

I hope you enjoyed these cake decorating ideas! Do you feel like you know how to decorate a cake with raspberries now? As I said, there are so many more ways than just these five that you can decorate your cakes with raspberries. I’d love to see what creations you’ve made or what you will make with raspberries! You can send me your cake photos to me over on Instagram. And you can follow me there @cakebycourtney for more tips and tricks on all things cake!

The post How to Decorate a Cake with Raspberries first appeared on Cake by Courtney.

The post How to Decorate a Cake with Raspberries appeared first on Cake by Courtney.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Cupcakes

Round 1

Round 2

In my second round, I decided to use coconut sugar instead of granulated sugar. You’ll see in the recipe below that I ground up the coconut sugar into a fine powder-like consistency. If you use coconut sugar in your baking, you know that it has a grainy texture more like brown sugar than the finer texture you get from white sugar. I was afraid of getting a heavy, dense cake because of the thicker sugar granules, so I had the idea to grab my Magic Bullet and grind them up. I think this helped to keep the cupcakes light and fluffy, while still sweet and rich. Again, these cupcakes passed the taste test with Ryan and Westin, as well as some friends.

Round 3

In my final round, I added an extra egg and two scoops of my favorite chocolate protein powder by Ideal Fit (it’s the only one I’ve tried that doesn’t have a weird aftertaste, and I love that it uses minimal but quality ingredients – I have it every day, either in a shake or just as a post-workout drink), to see if I could make an even healthier cupcake while still maintaining the rich, decadent chocolate taste. My taste testers in this round included Ryan and Westin, along with my mom, my brother, my sister-in-law, and a couple of close friends – all of which were blown away by the fact that these cupcakes were made with Quinoa and protein powder. Again, I didn’t tell them beforehand that there was anything different about these cupcakes, and again, they all gave me thumbs-up, lick-the-plate-clean reviews.

So, now it’s your turn! Check out this gluten-free chocolate cupcakes recipe, give it a try and let me know what you think. If you’re aiming for gluten-free, just leave out the protein powder. You could also substitute the milk with coconut milk, the butter with melted coconut oil, and the heavy cream with coconut cream for a vegan version.

More Recipes You’ll Love

• The Most Delicious Gluten-Free Vanilla Cake with Mixed Berry Buttercream
• The Best Raspberry Cream Cupcakes
• Tip Tuesday: How To Turn Cakes Into Cupcakes
• Coconut Cake with Chocolate Coconut Buttercream
• Egg-Free and Dairy-Free Vanilla Cake

The post Gluten-Free Chocolate Cupcakes first appeared on Cake by Courtney.

The post Gluten-Free Chocolate Cupcakes appeared first on Cake by Courtney.